


Honesty Among Friends

by Tarlan



Category: The Ride (1997)
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-10-27
Updated: 2006-10-27
Packaged: 2017-10-18 17:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/191504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Smokey regrets not being honest to Mike Stillwell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Honesty Among Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story for the MBfic _Why didn't I keep last year's resolution?!_ challenge. Thanks, Winnie, for a great challenge.

Why didn't I keep last year's resolution?!

Smokey groaned as what seemed like the pounding from a herd of horses stampeded through his head. His mouth felt so dry and thick that he was sure someone had stuffed it full of cotton wool, sucking away all the moisture. Through eyes that could barely focus, he saw a shape moving around him. The image finally settled on Mike Stillwell and he felt thoroughly ashamed of himself.

The stringent smell of alcohol filled the air and he moaned.

After Danny's death, he had made a promise to turn his life around and stop wasting what time he had been given on this earth. Those few months with Danny had shown him a courage that went beyond the foolhardiness of trying to ride some ornery beast that would gore him as soon as look at him. However, he had been determined to win that coveted Rodeo title one more time -- for Danny. That set him on the road for several months at a time, going from one rodeo show to the next... and finding trouble waiting for him.

Stillwell sat down beside him and helped him take a sip of water, shaking his head before dabbing at one of the many cuts and abrasions.

"Thought we had a deal, Smokey."

Smokey hissed as the cloth caught at a particularly nasty cut at the corner of his mouth, probably caused when Smooth Stevie's over-sized pinkie ring connected with his face for the umpteenth time. He thought the loan shark had cut his losses and gone west into Nevada several months back, so he never mentioned the money he owed. Mike would have lent him the money to clear this debt if he had only been honest enough to ask... and he had made that resolution to be honest with his friends.

As the alcohol-dampened cloth was pressed against another cut, he knew God was teaching him another valuable lesson.

Why didn't I keep last year's resolution?!

THE END


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